chapter Four
“Have you made your decision, Ms. Harlow?”
“Yes, I’ll take the… position,” Ari practically whispered through the receiver. She had barely sat down on her couch at home when her phone rang with Raffaello Palazzo on the other end of the line.
“I’m pleased to hear that. I’ll send a driver over to pick you up so we can discuss the small details,” he said before she heard the dial tone of a disconnected call.
The man didn’t give her any time to argue or tell him she had other plans. She glared at the beeping handset before slowly hanging it up. She knew what she was getting into – or did she? Once she signed his contract, that’s how it would always be. He’d make a command and she’d be expected to follow whatever it was he requested.
Did he honestly expect her to gain any comfort from the fact that he said he wouldn’t beat her or make her break the law? She’d have a broken spirit, but that didn’t count. Her mother’s pale face flashed before her eyes. She could do this. She could do anything for the woman who’d sacrificed so much for her.
She didn’t bother changing from her jeans and t-shirt. If he didn’t like her outfit then he could recant his job offer. She’d at least have no guilt about refusing the job. It would be out of her hands. Just when she was about to panic and change her mind – throw on a dress and heels, her doorbell rang.
It suddenly occurred to her that she’d never listed her physical address on her application. She shouldn’t be surprised that he knew where she lived. She was sure he’d already done a thorough background check on everything there was to know about her. He didn’t seem the type of man who went into anything blindly. At this point, he probably knew her better than she knew herself.
She opened her door to find Mr. Kinsor, the person she’d had her first interview with, standing before her, impeccably dressed with that same kind smile on his face as before.
“It’s great to see you again, Ms. Harlow. If you’re ready, I have the car waiting.”
Realizing that he had to know what the job position was for, Ari’s face turned slightly pink as she followed him down the steps to the back door of the Bentley which looked so out of place in her less than desirable neighborhood. He must think of her as a tramp – or a moneygrubber. The thought was mortifying.
He held open her door and she quickly climbed in, not daring to meet his eyes again. She truly didn’t know how she was going to do this. It was degrading. The many employees of Mr. Palazzo had to know he hired his females the same as he hired the rest of his staff.
She’d never be able to look any of them in the eye. Did his business colleagues know about it, too? Would she be in a constant state of embarrassment the entire time she was beside him at business functions? Would she be mocked?
What about after he discarded her? She’d forever have this humiliating mark upon her. Even if she managed to get back to school and become a professor, people would know. She could end up with students who knew she’d once been nothing but a high priced call-girl. She didn’t see the embarrassment ever ending, but with her mother dying, what other choice did she have?
She’d worked so hard not to be in this place, always being the top of her class, studying hard, forgoing dating, avoiding the social scene unlike so many other high school and college students. She’d worked hard so she could be proud of herself, and now she found she was about to be some man’s mistress.
How did one get to this point in their life? She’d always lacked sympathy for people who settled, never looking beyond the image in front of them. Wasn’t a spade a spade? Victims allowed themselves to be taken advantage of, didn’t they? She was discovering very quickly that the world wasn’t as black and white as she’d always seen it from her privileged vantage point.
If her mother received the care she needed, and got back on her feet, it would be worth it – even if Ari was never able to look herself in a mirror again. She could finally understand why desperate people made impossible decisions.
“We’re here,” Mr. Kinsor said, snapping her from her thoughts.
“Thank you,” Ari uttered as she stepped from the car and looked at the privacy glass of the exclusive restaurant. Her stomach was rolling over as she followed Mr. Kinsor inside, past the host, and straight back to a secluded area.
Sitting at the beautifully set table was Rafe, looking quite devastating in his black Armani suite and brilliant red tie. It wouldn’t be so bad being his mistress, she tried to reason. She could suffer through the actual act of sex; it wasn’t like she had any desire to enter a real relationship anytime soon, so she could think of it like practice for her future husband.
“Please have a seat, Arianna. I’ve taken the liberty of ordering.”
“Thank you.” Irritation covered the increasing panic as she heard the timid sound of her own voice. She was already starting to not recognize herself. Was she truly that far gone? She’d made one mistake – one! Up until that party, she’d been the dream child, achieving the highest grades in her classes, walking the line through life. She hadn’t snuck out the window at night, taken drugs, or gotten pregnant like so many others.
Even in college she’d walked the line, putting her studies first, visiting her mother often, and staying true to the course she’d mapped out by the time she was thirteen.
Her mother wouldn’t want her to do this – wouldn’t want her to give up at the first roadblock.
“I have the contract right here. Before we proceed, I need you to initial each section and sign at the bottom.” Rafe said as he pulled the papers from his briefcase and held out a pen.
Ari sat there as she tried to force her hand to reach up and take hold of the shiny silver pen he was holding. She just needed to take the pen, sign the papers and accept her fate. That’s it. They could fine tune the details over a nice meal.
“No.” Ari heard herself say the word, though she couldn’t believe it. Shock radiated through her as she stood there motionless looking at him. She’d had every intention of saying yes, serving herself up on a silver platter. She was stunned to be refusing the man offering her the ability to get out of her situation.
She stood in thunderstruck silence as puzzlement crossed Mr. Palazzo’s features. He was gaping at her as if he’d never before heard that word. Stillness suffocated the two of them as a waiter came in and set dishes on the table before scurrying from the tension filled room.
“You said yes over the phone. I thought this was settled,” Rafe calmly replied as he picked up his glass of wine and slowly took a sip of the dark red liquid while she awkwardly stood a few feet from him. She finally moved her head, looking around for Mr. Kinsor, who had disappeared. She’d have to find another ride back home. It was too long of a walk.
Ari watched as Rafe swallowed, the way his throat constricted as the fluid slid smoothly down. As if looking through another person’s eyes, she noticed he was quite handsome and so self-assured. Why would he even need to hire mistresses? Like he’d pointed out in his offices, there was a line of women practically begging to be chosen to be on his arm.
He had to know she didn’t want to do this even before she’d refused, so why go through the motions? She would understand it a little more if he was an ugly tyrant, hideous to look at. With his olive complexion, slight Italian accent, and amazing self-assuredness, she didn’t see a reason behind what he did. In another time she may even be disappointed not to date him.
Of course, he wasn’t asking for a girlfriend – he didn’t want to date. He wanted a woman to do his bidding, be at his beck and call, fall at his knees, and do all sorts of kinky, twisted sexual favors. She’d never be what he was looking for.
Ari’s knees grew shaky as the two of them continued their stand-off, so she slowly sank down into the chair. As his gaze held hers captive, she took a steadying breath as she picked up the full glass of sweet red wine in front of her and took a sip, giving herself a minute to think. She didn’t know why it was important for her to say anything, but she needed to.
“I thought I could do this – sell my body for the sake of my mother. I was wrong. I planned on saying yes, was determined to take the position and deal with it. I had no idea I would say no until the word popped out of my mouth. I’m slightly desperate at the moment, but I guess I do actually have a bit of pride still intact.”
Ari watched as his eyes narrowed dangerously. She hadn’t been trying to insult him, but it looked like she had, anyway. He seemed to be the type of guy you didn’t want to push when you were so precariously close to a steep cliff that they could shove you over.
Suddenly, she didn’t care. She felt exhilaration take over the ever present fear as she took another drink and looked him dead in the eye. He may have all the money in the world, and he may even have more power than the President, but he was still just a man. The bottom line was that he couldn’t force her into anything she didn’t want to do – no matter who he was.
If she’d been born in a foreign land, he could probably just shoot her right there on the spot with no consequences, but she was here in the land of the free, where she was safe. Feeling like she actually had a choice gave her hope. She’d made the right decision.
She refused to be somebody she wasn’t. She never would’ve even thought of dating a man as striking and sophisticated as Rafe – not in her lifetime. She would marry an accountant, or a fireman. She’d have a small house with a yard that needed mowing and two kids splashing in a pool with their puppy. She wasn’t a girl who wanted to play kinky games.
She finished her wine and felt relief that her knees had stopped shaking. It was time to leave so she stood from her chair. There was no point in their conversation continuing. She’d said no. She didn’t owe him an explanation. She reached down to grab her purse when his hand snaked out and gripped her arm.
“This conversation isn’t over.” The raw power in his tone and the controlled movement of his hand sent a shudder down her spine. What had she gotten herself into by going to that interview? She really wished she’d never seen that ad.